The Hillsboro Police Department on Tuesday night arrested an 18-year-old man in connection with a string of burglaries that have occurred along the city's eastern edge during the past few months.

Since July, police have received reports of 39 burglaries at large apartment buildings in the Tanasbourne area, said Lt. Mike Rouches, a Hillsboro police spokesman. The suspect in the crimes targeted ground-floor units with unlocked sliding doors or windows. Rouches didn't know of any cases that involved forced entry.

"These guys were just opportunists," Rouches said. "They looked for the easy way in."

Most of the crimes occurred between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., and apartments with windows facing utility areas or green spaces were targeted. In each burglary, the suspect would take small items such as cellphones, cash, liquor and laptops –things that would fit inside a backpack, Rouches said.

"No single burglary was a huge haul," he said.

Investigators started checking local pawn shops to see if items had turned up, but found nothing. They monitored Craigslist, but still no clues.

Hillsboro investigators learned that a Beaverton detective was investigating some burglaries that occurred on the western edge of town, near Northwest 185th Avenue. Rouches said the Beaverton detective gave investigators license plate information from a suspect vehicle in their cases. Police, Rouches said, tied the car to 18-year-old Johnathan Gottschalk.

Members of Hillsboro's Street Crimes Unit then started watching Gottschalk on Tuesday. "They basically followed him for hours," Rouches said. "It's good police work."

About 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, the investigators saw a man, who was with Gottschalk, enter an unlocked apartment on Northwest Inverness Drive, Rouches said. The man, whom police identified as 18-year-old Eli Reyes, stole a wallet from the apartment, Rouches said.

During an interview with investigators, Gottschalk admitted to 16
burglaries, Rouches said. Investigators aren't sure how many total
burglaries Gottschalk will be linked to. So far, authorities say they have only tied Reyes to the burglary on Inverness Drive.

Police arrested Reyes and Gottschalk in connection with the burglary. Both were lodged in the Washington County Jail on burglary accusations. More burglary charges, Rouches said, are pending for Gottschalk.

Reyes and Gottschalk were living together at the Rock Creek Landing Apartments on Northwest Overlook Drive in Hillsboro, Rouches said. Police had several reported burglaries at the apartments.

Investigators will be analyzing fingerprints left at the scene of other burglaries.